Lt. Gov. Dewhurst reports raising $2.4M for 2014

Published 9:20 am, Wednesday, January 15, 2014

AUSTIN — Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst's campaign says it has raised $2.4 million for his 2014 re-election bid.

In a campaign finance report filed with the Texas Ethics Commission on Wednesday, the campaign reported having $1.4 million in the bank.

That puts Dewhurst behind two of his three Republican challengers in terms of cash on hand. Todd Stales and Dan Patrick both have $3.1 million saved for the March 4 primary.

Dewhurst suffered a blow last year when his campaign manager embezzled more than $1 million from his campaign fund. He lost a tough 2012 U.S. Senate campaign against Ted Cruz, and his opponents think he's vulnerable.

But Dewhurst has name recognition after 11 years in office and deep pockets to finance his re-election campaign. He spent $20 million against Cruz.